I believe that there is always an opportunity to connect with other people, to look another person in the eye and to see them for who they really are. I think we should never allow a situation, no matter how complicated it is, to mask our ability to sympathize or to prevent us from feeling the suffering of other people.

Yunis Abbas, the prisoner:

He was a very honest soldier, because he told me, always, “You and all those guys inside the camp, I know you are not guilty.” And he [would] always help me out, help the prisoners, [bring us] food or blankets or T-shirts or socks. He always wanted to help, because he loved Iraqi people. He told me, “We need peace. Me and you, we are brothers.”

Frankly, I can’t think of anything we could do at this point that could give the Iraqis fond feelings towards the United States. Except possibly in the Kurdish areas, everyone in Iraq has been tortured, raped, wounded, killed, afraid for their life, humiliated, or just plain fucked over… or knows someone who has. Maybe not always directly at the hands of Americans, but everyone understands that we are responsible. Iraq may someday have a truly democratic government, and it may someday have a pro-American government, but it will never, ever have a truly democratic pro-American government.